The first season of XFL Demons’ football was to be their one and only. Fans rocked Pacific Bell Park with a league-high average of more than 35,000 fans. In spite of the city hosting an NFL team, the Demons fans came out in droves to support their team. The team was originally slated to play in San Jose, about 50 miles south of San Francisco, but Pacific Bell Stadium officials convinced the XFL to move the Demons there.

The Demons featured two of the best Quarterbacks in the league in Mike Pawlawski and Pat Barnes, and also featured Eric England on defense. The team struggled early on in the season, but then really got turned on about the middle of the season; they finished strong and not only qualified for the playoffs, but made it all the way to the championship game (“The Million Dollar Game”) against the Los Angeles Xtreme.

One popular feature at home games was the “Hell Hole”, at one end of the endzone. Fans packed into the Hell Hole and did their best to have the most intimidating endzone in the league.

A solid performance endeared the team to their fans, and the fans made the Demons into the most popular team in the league. The Demons set the standard for the other teams to follow, and they will be sorely missed.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - Those were Al Michael‘s frantic words over the ABC television network as the signal from Candlestick Park was lost just before game 3 of the World Series. Rain, sometimes snow, has been known to interrupt post-season play. This time the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 brought all activity other than self-preservation to a screeching halt including the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s.

Millions watching the broadcast saw highlights of the previous game being described by announcer Tim McCarver when all of the sudden the picture sizzled and the broadcast signal was lost.

Candlestick Park, with 62,000 people inside, bent – fans felt the stands move and the light standards sway several feet – but did not break.

There was catastrophic damage in other parts of the Bay Area; a section of the double deck Nimitz Freeway collapsed, as did part of the Bay Bridge. There were multiple explosions and fires in the Mission District of San Francisco. Sixty-three deaths and almost 4,000injuries were reportedly caused by the earthquake.

The World Series, coincidentally involving the two Bay Area teams, was postponed for ten days. The A’s eventually swept the Giants in four games.